June 26, 2026
Last week, Heidi Harris, also known as Denver Dry Garden, invited me to visit her garden in the morning. And it was all so beautiful that I took a million photos. Her garden, inspired by the late David Salman of High Country Gardens, is a pollinator paradise with flowering perennials, succulents, yuccas, and even a small niche garden. Not a blade of thirsty grass is in sight.
Mojave sage is one of my favorites for dry climates (the first time I admired this sage was at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden), and it’s even better when combined with ‘Raspberry Delight’ salvia.
Her Thompson Yucca (Yucca thompsoniana) is blooming now. This yucca is similar to Austin’s beloved Yucca rostrata, but is more cold tolerant and shorter in height. It also tends to be more branched than Rostrata.
another view
Tweedy’s Himebane (Erigeron tweedy) has similar names and is very cute!
Renowned crevice garden maker Kenton Seth (whom I met recently at the Plant Select Conference in Denver) created this crevice garden for Heidi. It’s a uniquely Colorado addition to her garden.
Heidi plans to move some of the groundcovers that are competing with other niche plants. It will be fun to see how it evolves.
It’s blooming so much now…
…These include two Texas native species, Engelman’s daisy (Engelmannia peristenia) and Mealy blue sage (Salvia farinacea).
The New Mexico agave (Agave parryi v. neomexicana) is one of the few agave species that can survive Colorado winters.
Sempervivum, aka chicken and chick, is popular here and is bulletproof in the winter. I love how they nestle against the rocks.
Planting different ones together creates a striking tapestry effect.
nice!
Hairy golden aster (Heterotheca villosa)
Spiderweb Sempervivum and ‘Brute’ Ice Plant
Soapgrass Yucca (Yucca glauca)
Another yucca
Heidi created an eye-catching arrangement by stacking round pots on top of a tree stump, some painted turquoise. Cacti and succulents are easy to care for without excessive watering.
Platinum sage (Salvia dagestanica) and Hymenoxys
A variety of hymenoxy made from rocks reminiscent of mountains
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Tweedy Himebane
‘Ponchapa Red’ Sulfur buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum ‘Ponchapa Red’) and butterfly weed. I can’t wait to grow buckwheat in my future garden.
Red Valerian (Centranthusruber)
Another angle of Thompson Yucca
Desert Penstemon (Penstemon pseudospectabilis)
Mojave sage (Salvia pachyphylla)
Close-up of Mojave sage and ‘Raspberry Delight’ salvia
Engelmann Daisy and Mealy Blue Sage
Sempervivum ‘Tracy Sue’ and ‘Onyx’
hymenoxisis
Prairie Wine Cup, commonly called Callirhoe involucrata here – another Texas native that I used to grow
Chocolate daisy (Berlandiera lyrata) — yes, another Texan in Heidi’s garden
A flicker of the north stopped by for a visit. Often seen in Denver parks.
gap garden path
This is a strange plant to me. Potato cactus (Opuntia fragilis var. denudata) and creeping golden aster (Heterotheca jonesii).
Another overview
A hairy-trunk tree (I can’t remember the type) near the house provides shade for a patio with a container garden that Heidi has surrounded with Corten planters.
Glass strings catch the light, making the suspended planters appear to be floating on nearly invisible wires.
Fine details are everywhere
Using lots of pots will make the plant even better for enjoying in the shade. Thank you for the wonderful visit, Heidi!
Readers, if you would like to see more of Heidi’s garden, click through for photos from our September 2024 fall visit.
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